Of all the distraction techniques I tried to help manage my tinnitus, colouring has been he one that has not only the most effective, but also the most enjoyable.
A few years ago, adult colouring books were recognised as having beneficial gains in improving mental health. I'd kinda scoffed at the idea when I saw friends who would take out the colouring books and pencils, feeling it was rather childish. By Christmas 2019 I was ready to try anything that might help me to forget, even for a moment, about this dreadful noise that was quite literally driving me to despair. I wasn't sure if it was going to make any difference, but was willing to give it a try, and with both Christmas and my birthday around the corner asked my brother for a sweary colouring book.
When I first unwrapped it, it had a response that I wasn't expecting - it made me howl with laughter. There's something about the most foul language, surrounded by a beautiful mandala or paisley design that is absolutely hilarious. And the creativity of swears! Gives Malcolm Tucker a run for his money any day of the week! I was hooked in, and then came the actual colouring - for the first time since my tinnitus took up residency, I completely forgot it was there. I became obsessed, searching for colouring books that would bring joy and calm in to my life.
I stumbled upon the artist VooDude who quickly became my favourite creator of this medium, and had just released his first colouring book - VooDude Vixens. The artwork and subject matter were right up my street and it remains to this day, the only colouring book I have completely finished. I cannot get enough of his designs and pretty much stalk him on Facebook to find out when the next release is so I can be first in line to buy it. I've tried to find other artists whose work I enjoy as much, but none compare, sadly.
I prefer to use Sharpie pens, for the extra tactile sensation, which can make it an expensive hobby (top tip - Tesco often have the big sets on sale for a tenner and I stock up when I see them), so I have to make sure that the colouring book pages are single sided and I use a piece of cardboard in between to prevent any bleeding onto the page underneath.
There are so many different styles out there, something to suit everyone. If you haven't given it a go, if you have tinnitus or not, if you need to wind down at the end of a tiresome day, if you just need an escape from the world, I cannot recommend colouring highly enough.
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